Archive for September 2011

(JTA) — A majority of Argentinians hold anti-Semitic beliefs, according to a new study.

The study, “Attitudes Towards Jews in Argentina,” was commissioned by the Anti-Defamation League and the Delegation of Argentinian Jewish Associations.

The opinion survey of 1,510 adults in eight Argentina cities found that more than half of Argentinians believe that Jews are more loyal to Israel than Argentina, and more than 80 percent believe that Jews are largely interested in making money.

Nearly 70 percent also believe that Jews have “too much power” both in the business world and international financial markets, with 41 percent blaming Jews for various degrees of responsibility for the financial crisis.

“The survey shows that anti-Semitic attitudes are deeply ingrained in Argentina,” Abraham Foxman, ADL’s national director, said in a statement.

“It is disturbing that such a large portion of the Argentinian population buys into classical anti-Semitic stereotypes. The notions that Jews have too much power in business, are too concerned with making money or are not loyal to their country are traditional anti-Semitic motifs that have contributed to centuries of persecution against the Jewish people.”

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In his recent article, “Libya and the Big Lie: Using Human Rights Organizations to Launch Wars,” Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya writes:

One of the main sources for the claim that Qaddafi was killing his own people is the Libyan League for Human Rights (LLHR). The LLHR was actually pivotal to getting the U.N. involved through its specific claims in Geneva. On February 21, 2011 the LLHR got the 70 other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to sent letters to the President Obama, E.U. High Representative Catherine Ashton., and the U.N. Secretary-General Ban-ki Moon demanding international action against Libya invoking the “Responsibility to Protect” doctrine.

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Former CIA officer Philip Giraldi discusses his article “Tapping the Israeli Embassy” about what Shamai Leibowitz learned while working as an FBI counterintelligence translator; the allied groups that make up the “Bomb Iran” lobby; catching Jane Harman and an unnamed congressman from Indiana acting like Israeli operatives; and how Israel’s “perception management” campaign makes Americans believe Iran is a dire threat and must be defeated in war.

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Writing in The Daily Beast, John Avlon publicises a new group, Americans Elect, which by the end of July had “quietly collected enough signatures to secure a 2012 ballot line in eight states.” According to Avlon:

Like Egypt’s leaderless Facebook revolution, this is a movement without a candidate, happy to create a platform via wiki, and identify potential presidents the way Pandora figures out whether you like Kanye West or Johnny Cash.

The money behind Americans Elect understands disruptive business models. The group’s founder, entrepreneur Peter Ackerman (father of Elliot), started FreshDirect.com, which has upended the New York grocery business by letting customers order food and basics online, delivered straight from a warehouse. He and some 50 other initial donors have loaned the organization $20 million, out of an eventual $30 million budgeted, to be repaid if small donors join on.

Investigative journalist Russ Baker has written an intriguing analysis of Nicholas Schmidle’s much-heralded account in The New Yorker of the Abbottabad raid. Summing up the story’s main weaknesses, Baker writes:

It is based on reporting by a man who fails to disclose that he never spoke to the people who conducted the raid, or that his father has a long background himself running such operations (this even suggests the possibility that Nicholas Schmidle’s own father could have been one of those “unnamed sources.”)

It seems to have depended heavily on trusting second-hand accounts by people with a poor track record for accurate summations, and an incentive to spin.

The alleged decisions on killing bin Laden and disposing of his body lack credibility.

The DNA evidence that the SEALs actually got their man is questionable.

Though certain members of Congress say they have seen photos of the body (or, to be precise, a body), the rest of us have not seen anything.

Promised photos of the ceremonial dumping of the body at sea have not materialized.

The eyewitnesses from the house—including the surviving wives—have disappeared without comment.

If the Palestinian application for United Nations full membership actually takes place Friday and the United States uses its Security Council veto to stop the process, it will be the final step in a predictable and preventable tragedy playing out. Some are arguing that Washington might actually abstain, thereby gaining considerable favorable sentiment from much of the world and also sending a signal to Israel that there are limits to the bilateral relationship. But it is far more likely that President Barack Obama, who has stated over and over that he will protect Israel in international forums, will not flinch when he calls on Susan Rice to cast the fatal vote. Any expectation that the president might hesitate either because it is the right thing to do or because it benefits the United States is fanciful, particularly with a presidential election looming in 2012.

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Last Sunday the Council for the National Interest’s Alison Weir offered “The Nitty-Gritty of AIPAC” program to a national gathering of hundreds of Middle East activists at the Thurgood Marshall Center. Although the packed session was not recorded, audio from the main panel presentations at the 5/21/2011 “Move Over AIPAC” event in Washington is now available for download: